According to an article on CNet, Sony, Matsushita, Hitachi, NEC, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, and Toshiba have formed CELF, the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum.

The group is intended to help steer Linux in a direction compatible with consumer electronics, focussing on issues such as:

• Extended battery life
• Real-time responsiveness (for audio and video)
• Fast boot and shut-down times
• Reduced memory requirements

They will be taking applications from both corporate sponsors and interested individuals.

The web site is pretty sparse right now.